350 Humboldt’s March 19 General Meeting is cancelled to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus.
We thank Donna Luckey for offering to talk about Project Drawdown at the meeting and hope we can reschedule her for a future General Meeting.
Likewise, planning for the Stop the Money Pipeline action is postponed for now. We will notify you if/when conditions allow 350 Humboldt to resume planning for this April 23 event.
Another cancelled event you may have considered attending is the workshop to unveil RCEA’s long-awaited E-bike rebate, which had been scheduled for March 21. See this to email RCEA staff to request information on when it’s rescheduled.
Despite the disruption and downright pain of these and many other cancelled plans and events as we battle Covid-19, 350 Humboldt supports following public health recommendations to adopt “social distancing” in our lives.
But not everything climate-wise has come to a screeching halt. As you know, transportation has the biggest impact on the climate, and people still have to get around. A nice step is that several local transit systems will offer free rides every Tuesday from April 7 through June 29. Enjoy free rides on Redwood Transit, Eureka Transit, Southern Humboldt, and Willow Creek buses. (Thanks to the CRTP for this tip.) And you might find encouragement in this article noting that mass transit isn’t the disease vector it’s often made out to be.
These days you may have a little more time on your hands. You could boost your activist knowledge by joining a free webinar on wood waste biomass (a major source of Humboldt’s electricity) offered by Sierra Club California on two separate days this month (Tuesday, March 24, and Wednesday, March 25, both at noon). Call Sierra Club California’s office at (916) 557-1100 to sign up.
Though not everything on Earth these days revolves around Covid-19, 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben wrote this essay about impacts of coronavirus on climate change and our movement (he also interviews an inspiring high school climate activist).
The New York Times reported that the Covid-19 epidemic may cut Chinese GHG emissions by as much as 25% this year. Another Times article reported that the impact of declining oil prices on fossil fuel use is much less clear than it used to be (though now the White House has begun a vast federal effort to prop up oil prices).
Of course, by definition social distancing means less of the human contact that provides a balm to ease the anxiety of knowing our climate is in uncharted terrain. Humboldt State University professor Sarah Ray has written a book (described here) on coping with climate anxiety.
We hope it’s safe to meet again soon. 350 Humboldt will stay in touch to share information on local climate change activism. Stay well!
Pat Carr for 350 Humboldt